Dr. Justin C. Sanchez

Imagine a chip, strategically placed in the brain, that could prevent
epileptic seizures or allow someone who has lost a limb to control an
artificial arm just by thinking about it.

It may sound like science fiction, but University of Florida
researchers are developing devices that can interpret signals in the
brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly, advances that might
someday make it possible for a tiny computer to fix diseases or even
allow a paralyzed person to control a prosthetic device with his
thoughts.

The initial goal? To correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy.

“We really feel like if we can do this, we’ll have the technology to
offer new options for patients,” said Justin Sanchez, Ph.D., director
of the UF Neuroprosthetics Research Group and an assistant professor of
pediatric neurology, neuroscience and biomedical engineering. “There’s
kind of a revolution going on right now in the neurosciences and
biomedical engineering. People are trying to take engineering
approaches for directly interfacing with the brain.

“The hope is we can cure more immediately a variety of diseases.”

Justin C. Sanchez, Ph.D. is
Director
of the UF Neuroprosthetics Research Group and
Assistant Professor of
Pediatrics, Neuroscience, and Biomedical Engineering at the University
of Florida College of Medicine, Engineering, and McKnight Brain
Institute in Gainesville, Florida. His
research interests are in Neural Engineering and neural assistive
technologies. Topics include the analysis of neural ensemble
recordings, adaptive signal processing, Brain-Machine Interfaces, motor
system electrophysiology, treatment of movement disorders, and the
neurophysiology of epilepsy.

Justin earned his Ph.D. (2004) and
M.E. degrees in Biomedical Engineering and B.S. degree in Engineering
Science (Highest Honors – 2000) with a minor in Biomechanics from the
University of Florida. The goal of his research is to develop
state-of-the-art novel medical treatments by operating at the interface
between basic neural engineering research and clinical care. This
direction of research is motivated by the potential of direct neural
interfaces for delivering therapy and restoring functionality to
disabled individuals using engineering principles.

In 2005 Justin won two
prestigious awards for his work including Excellence in
Neuroengineering and more recently an American Epilepsy Society Young
Investigator Award. In 2006 he founded the Gainesville Engineering in
Medicine and Biology/Communications Joint Societies Chapter and serves
as the IEEE Gainesville Section Director for membership development.
His neural engineering electrophysiology laboratory is currently
developing direct neural interfaces for use in the research and
clinical settings and has published over 35 peer review papers and
holds 3 patents in neuroprosthetic design. He is the founding member of
the
Neuroprosthetics Group (NRG) at the University of Florida.